Consultant report
An Assessment of Mass Reduction Opportunities for a 2017–2020 Model Year Vehicle Program
A study carried out by Lotus Engineering and released by the ICCT in April finds that, using existing or soon-to-be-available mainstream engineering techniques, automakers can reduce passenger-vehicle mass by one third in exchange for a 3% increase in component costs. The decrease in weight would mean massive fuel savings (the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that cutting vehicle mass by 33% would result in a 23% decrease in fuel consumption) and a correspondingly significant decline in CO2 emissions. The study is expected to serve as a technical underpinning for future passenger-vehicle GHG standards.
Attachments
Lotus-Lightweighting-Report-Summary-Apr10.pdf